In any new project, the entrepreneur puts himself in a position to provide lasting performance when he is able to accept the idea that he can not do everything. This exposes him to an existential question. Indeed, if he can not do everything, then he’s going to have to CHOOSE permanently, that is, RENUNCER …
Creating value is a matter of project and strategy. It is conceived and takes place over the long term. Experience has shown that entrepreneurs who succeed in regaining control over their agendas are those who have learned to select, with full responsibility, the activities that contribute to bringing them closer to their priority objectives and to giving up all the others.
Henry Mintzberg pointed out that the vast majority of managers
80% of their working time to performing urgent tasks and only half of that time was spent on important tasks (see definitions below). To improve the efficiency and added value of work, it is therefore necessary to reduce the time devoted to URGENT activities and to increase the time reserved for IMPORTANT NON-URGENT activities. ” But how ? “. Statistically, 85% of the working time of executives is planning and calls on talents of anticipation and organization. Indeed, the activities classified as “URGENT – IMPORTANT – IMPREVU” occupy on average 15% of the working time TOTAL. Thus, the IMPORTANT must be the cause of the actions. It takes vision and courage to focus on important activities on those that are only urgent.
Definitions around time management (Hachette dictionary)
- IMPORTANT : “What you are interested in”. It is an activity that
contributes to your objectives or priority orientations. - URGENT : “activity to be carried out immediately”. It is an activity that must be carried out before 8, 24 or 48 hours (time to be agreed according to the professional sector to materialize the notion of “immediately”).
- IMPREVU : “that was not planned, that arrives by surprise”. This is an activity that we can not plan (random occurrence).
From the graph above, you can deduce that:
- A PART OF THE URGENT TASKS ARE PLANNABLE (since they are not unpredictable);
- A PART OF UNINTENDED TASKS ARE NOT URGENT.
Examples of “emergency” planning: Activity of preparing a meeting one hour before its start.
Non-urgent contingencies (or false contingencies):
- Precipitate replacement of an employee who goes on maternity leave.
- Delay of a customer at an appointment.
>> To learn more and help you identify important activities, read Chapter 7 of ” Elite Manager “.
>> Next blog: discover the ” TIME + ” system © to optimize the use of your time.
Henry Mintzberg, Ph.D. (MIT), is a professor of management at McGill University in Montreal and a professor at the European Institute of Business Administration (INSEAD) in Fontainebleau. A specialist in organizational science and author of several books, his theses are authoritative throughout the world.
